All the world's a backpack.

November 13, 2007

In-dore

“The flight to Indore is at 6:05 am and that’s the only Apex fare available… The next flight is full fare and you can’t take that… If you really want to take that flight, you need to get an approval from your boss”… Yes, words from my secy’s mouth. What’s a better option – approaching my boss for a later flight or waking up 1.5 hours earlier than planned. Shall let the reader figure this.

Anyway, reaching the Jet terminal at 5 am and having an Americano in the Cafe Coffee Day counter and listening to the barista mention as trained that an Americano is a black coffee is something I can never get tired of. The thought of taking a flight out, anywhere, is exciting. Especially, if its a place I havent visited before. With my partner in crime from the agency Aditi accompanying me, Indore was as exciting as Hawaii.

Landing in Indore, we let our cab driver play tour guide for the morning. The only brief given to him was to ensure he fed us great breakfast, great lunch in between the sightseeing that we planned to do… oops, and the consumer work too. I am amazed at what we managed to see in those 3 hours…

First stop at Khajrana Ganesh Mandir … the decoration inside the temple with colourful glass bits was the highlight… an Indore trademark..

Marigold and ladoos.. a sight outside every temple.. those shades of orange and yellow are not possible anywhere else..

Rajwada… in Old Indore… a view from across the road.. Palm trees and a palace in old Indore was hardly what we expected..

Inside the Rajwada, a seven storied palace built during the Holkar Era…

The Lalbagh palace from the Holkar Era… Wish we could have clicked pictures inside… Beds made of pure silver, Renaissance like paintings in the ceiling of the common rooms, French influence in the sitting room, Stuffed tigers surrounding the ballroom, Dining room with a T shaped dining table (T standing for Tukhoji Rao Holkar), Persian influence in the stained glass…. An underground tunnel connecting the palace to the kitchen, which was across the river… this palace was one pot pourri…

Victorian influence in the gardens of the palace…

One more amazing sight which has not been captured on candid camera was the Kaanch Mandir, an old Digambar Jain temple in Indore. Aditi and I managed to enter the temple, inspite of not being Jains… It was an amazing sight.. a must visit for anyone who goes anywhere near MP.

Apart from the sightseeing, it was quite a gastronomical trip… After trying Chaat from Chappan market, picking up ample Som Papdi, having coffee from Coffee house in MG road, we had lived the Indore experience in a day..

Not to forget the 1 hour visit to the only large mall in the city and shopping for some bracelets.. how can 2 girls visit a completely new place and not shop for something or the other…

Before i sign off, I must mention that we also managed to finish some consumer work in Indore afterall.. the actual reason for this official trip… did i say official?

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One thought on “In-dore”

Hi Aparna,Wonder if u remember me , from SCMHRD and Chennai ! Anyway, great to see u on Ryze and blogspot. Loved your write-up on Indore. Simply reinforces my belief that sight-seeing within India can be as wonderful as going abroad. If only we had good infrastructure, we’d really be living in Incredible India !!Cheers..Pallavi (Subramanian)